


Stranger To The West

by Nellblazer



Category: The Mummy (1999), The Mummy Returns (2001), The Mummy Series
Genre: 1920s, Action/Adventure, Adventure & Romance, Ancient Egypt, Apocalypse, Culture Shock, F/M, Fist Fights, Medjai - Freeform, Mummies, Old Ideals, Respectful Enemies, Self-Discovery, Sexism, Slow Burn, Swordfighting, spoiled reader, tombs
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-07-30
Updated: 2020-08-16
Packaged: 2021-03-06 03:21:19
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 2
Words: 6,540
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25616545
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Nellblazer/pseuds/Nellblazer
Summary: The spoiled daughter of a museum owner, you journey to Egypt with your faithful bodyguard on a mission to find Hamunaptra. When you overhear some treasure hunters talking, you decide to follow which puts you squarely in the sights of the Medjai because they’ll kill to protect Hamunaptra’s secrets.** Please do not replicate my work anywhere else without my express permission **
Relationships: Ardeth Bay/Reader
Comments: 19
Kudos: 49





	1. Journey's Beginnings

**Author's Note:**

> Warnings: 1920s ideals, small mention of injury
> 
> (Possible proof reading errors)
> 
> Translations gotten from help online so if any of the Arabic is wrong, please let me know so I can correct it!
> 
> \- NB xx

I was just about to give up on my dream of ever finding the lost city of Hamunaptra when I overheard a conversation between the American treasure hunters I'd been trying to avoid ever since I came here and a dusty looking man in a fez.

I leaned back on the veranda, using my hat to both shield my face from the scorching sun and to block the direction of my gaze from unwary eyes. To anyone else I might have been resting but I was listening intently to the rapid flow of words just a few tables across.

“I swear I've been there!” the man is being shaken so that his fez falls off and he dangles limply. “I'm not lying! I swear! Just don't make me go back there!”

“Braggin' at the bar wasn't such a smart idea if you never wanted to go back,” one of the men pulls his revolver out cause the other to squeak in fright.

“What do you want from me?!”

“If you take us to Hamunaptra, we'll split the profits of whatever we find. Won't a little monetary incentive change your mind, Beni?”

“Well now that you mention it, that does sound quite agreeable,” Beni nods and I catch the glimmer of greed, even from here.

“Excellent!” the revolver is exchanged for whiskey. “Then we got ourselves a guide. You might want to pack your things. We'd like to head out tomorrow.”

“Of course, sir. No problem, sir. Can I just-”

Beni tries to get up but the man pulls him back down again, “What's your hurry? You not gonna stay with us all night? Here have a drink.”

The rest of the conversation was obliterated by the sounds of raucous laughter from the table behind me and despite straining, I didn't hear anything further.

“Are you quite alright, Ma'am?” Albert, my bodyguard has finally noticed my strange behaviour.

“I think I have a lead!” I smile brightly, tipping my hat back up and leaning in. “Do you remember those odious treasure hunters on the boat down the canal?”

“How could I forget?” Albert sighs. “I've had their shanty songs in my head for a full night now.”

“They've got a guide to Hamunaptra! If we follow them-”

“-I don't think so, Ma'am. More than likely it's some opportunist who'll take them into the desert, rob them and leave them. I've heard of that sort of thing before.”

“I don't think that man is capable of robbing the entire party of them. I don't even think he'd be capable of robbing _me_.”

“I should hope not after the training I gave you,” Albert raises an eyebrow. “Your father may insist on you retaining some grace and decorum but if you're going to drag me to the ends of the bally world on these relic missions then you're damn well going to know how to fight if it comes to it.”

“You know what I mean, Al. Can we not just try? I promise if this turns out to be a dead trail then I'll book us passage back home,” I bat my eyelashes because I know he's terrible at denying me what I want.

“Do you swear it? I know what you're like.”

“I swear it!”

“Very well but only because this heat is unbearable and the quicker this goes the quicker I can get back to normal weather,” he unsticks his shirt from his chest with a grimace. “I shall be up at the dawn's call to track them so be prepared to go at any moment. If this turns out to be a trick and I end up in a grave of sand though...”

“You can say I told you so then,” I stand up. “For now, I'm off to pack.”

The move from the scorching sun to the darkness of the accommodation I was in provided little relief. It was still an arid warmth that persisted no matter how far into the shadows a person went.

I went to my room, pulling my case onto the bed and stuffing everything in haphazardly. I had no way of knowing if the treasure hunters would rethink their strategy and go tonight instead.

I wrote a hastily scribbled letter to my father but in the neatest way I could because I could hear his voice in my head telling me my cursive was too spidering.

_Dear Father,_

_At last I have found a lead to Hamunaptra and shall be heading there tomorrow. The path ahead I fear will be perilous for Egypt is a country of hidden dangers. I have already heard of creatures in the sand that kill unwary travellers and the sun kills more than that ten times over._

_Albert and I are in good spirits otherwise, although he does so like to complain._

_If all goes according to plan, I should return with such unique items for the museum. Perhaps you could even make a proper exhibit of them if I bring enough._

_If things should not go according to plan, know that I love you dearly and I have followed grandfather's footsteps to a better place._

_All my love,_

_Your daughter._

I thought back to my expeditions to Greece and Italy, the small pieces of history now preserved forever in father's museum. Some would call me no better than the treasure hunters I was going to follow, I am sure; some would say these items should be left where they were and I agree to a point but some artefacts and scripture needed to be saved in some cases, the world needed to know their story and they wouldn't do if they were forgotten in the earth or being traded by crooks or being destroyed.

Hamunaptra was the city of the dead and the legends told of unparalleled gold hidden in its depths but I did not care for gold. I wanted knowledge, I wanted an understanding of a society long since passed and if I could save anything to help scholars then I would but the monetary value meant nothing to me.

I had to straddle a careful line though between scholarly curiosity and glorious obsession. My grandfather had let his fervour in finding undiscovered ruins consume him and he had been missing for several years now after an expedition into South America.

I don't remember going to sleep but the next thing I knew, Albert was shaking me awake.

“Ma'am, they're heading to the Giza port. We must go now if you insist on following.”

“Yes, thank you.”

He already had his luggage ready and with help, we put them on a cart to head for the port. My nerves were jittery, my heart thundering in excitement that today, finally, I may be one step closer to the City of the Dead.

The treasure hunters stopped at a riverboat and Albert and I paid for passage. I didn't make an attempt to hide myself yet, they hadn't seen me on the veranda and they had no reason to suspect I was tailing them. I heard their oafish boasts though about stripping Hamunaptra of everything it's worth and selling it back home.

Not if I had anything to do with it.

“What a disgraceful bunch they are,” I see another woman in a hat equally as big as mine accompanied by two men. She didn't seem impressed with the treasure hunters either.

“They're not worth it, old mum,” the shorter of the two men says. “Besides, we have the advantage.”

“How about you keep your voice down, Jonathan?” the taller one says, checking his guns in his holsters. “Let's not advertise ourselves.”

“Really, Mr O'Connell, I thought Americans were supposed to be loud, not telling others to keep quiet,” Jonathan scowls.

“Oh enough,” the woman taps him on the arm. “If they want to play their silly games then let them. We'll find the City of the Dead first, I know it.”

Was everyone on this boat after the same thing?

“Well I have to say, Ma'am, your lead is getting more solid by the minute if more groups are showing up,” Albert gives me a sideways glance. “Perhaps you might find Hamunaptra after all.”

“Perhaps,” I smile at him before looking back where the woman is staring at me intently and I feel a little on edge. “I'm going to lie down. The heat is getting to me. Will you stay and keep an ear out, Al?”

“Of course. It'll make the day go faster,” he jokes. “I'll join their poker game and maybe I can find some things out.”

“Just don't make them lose terribly. They have guns,” I chide him.

“I'm well aware, Ma'am but I don't play poker to lose,” he winks before joining their table.

I walk off to my cabin but before I can go in, I hear that women's soft voice behind me.

“Excuse me?”

I turn around and she's taken her hat off now, her hair slightly damp from being confined for so long, “Can I help you?”

“Well possibly, you see, I overheard you mention Hamunaptra and I don't believe you're with those frightfully loud relic hunters on deck so I was wondering if you're after the same thing that I am?”

“Which is?” I ask warily.

I'd learned a long time ago not to put my trust in strangers. I still bore the scar on my stomach from that very mistake five years ago.

“To prove it's real,” she beams as she speaks, obviously passionate. “To spit in the face of the scholars who say it's nothing more than a myth and to get any knowledge I can.”

“Then yes I'm after the same thing but I preserve relics and scrolls too that are in danger of being destroyed.”

“Oh that sounds wonderful,” she grins before extending her hand. “I'm Evelyn Carnahan, Evie. Might I suggest that we, perhaps, join forces? I think it would be very nice to have an extra mind on our side and your friend looks like he's quite handy in a fight.”

“Do you know the way? Only, I've been tailing the treasure hunters so far.”

“Oh yes! We have our own guide and a map also. Oh say you'll join us? I would so like having another female adventurer to talk to.”

“I....”

“You're hesitant, I understand,” she holds up her hands. “But think on it. I daresay we'd make better company. It's me, my brother Jonathan and Mr O'Connell, a small party but a very effective one.”

“I'll think on it tonight, I promise,” I assure her.

“Excellent,” Evie grins. “I'll let you rest.”

She scurries off down the corridor with a spring to her step. As much as I didn't want to be taken for a fool, I didn't see anything false about Miss Carnahan. She seemed genuinely passionate about this mission and I saw something of a kindred spirit there. The other two she was with, I'd not had time to make a decision about but Mr O'Connell was definitely not like his treasure hunter counterparts from what I'd seen of him. Jonathan I had yet to form an opinion of.

The boat ride was smooth, gentle even and as I readied myself for sleep, since my rest had been interrupted earlier, I kept listening to the sounds above, hoping I didn't hear gunfire. I was half sure Albert would start an argument if he won too many hands but it'd sure kept us afloat these past two months.

I think because I was listening so long, so attuned for any signs of danger that when the floorboard squeaked unnaturally in my room, I bolted upright.

I couldn't see anything in the dark room but I slipped out of the covers as quietly as I could and pressed myself against the wall. I had to put a hand over my mouth to stifle my breathing.

Another creak, a padded sure-footed step and then the glint of something metallic in the light shining in through the doorframe. I knew then that this person meant to kill me in my sleep.

I heard the patting of the bed, searching for me and I shuffled as quietly as I could around the edge of the wall, trying to reach the door without being spotted. I took it at an agonising pace, desperately trying not to make a sound.

My assailant started moving too and panic got the better of me. I fled to the door, yanking it open and haring into the corridor where the sounds of fighting flared up from the deck. I was running for my life, when a hand caught the back of my nightgown and I tripped into an open room that was brightly lit.

I scrambled back, getting to my feet and grabbing a lamp stand as a weapon when I finally saw my attacker, dressed in black robes with a face covering and all I could see were two deep brown eyes that were fixed upon me.

“Stay back!” I yell.

He doesn't say anything but advances towards me and I see what the glint was before, a sword. I don't have time to repeat myself before it's being swung at my head and I block it with the stand, the impact shuddering up my arms but I cling on.

Albert's lessons nearly flew out of my head in my terror but I braced myself for another attack and assessed a plan to skirt around him.

The boat lurched and we both tottered off balance but I brought the stand down on his head as he wobbled precariously before I fought for control of the sword. He was dazed but he was still strong and I very nearly opened my skin up in the struggle back and forth until I leaned my weight forward and the boat tipped again where we went crashing into the wall and I finally wrested it from his hand.

“Who are you?!” I demanded, holding it to his throat.

He just laughs, “You won't kill me. I know killers and you are not one of them, _agrab sageer._ ”

“Do not mock me, sir,” I snarl. “You've invaded my room and tried to murder me.”

The man holds his hands out in surrender but his eyes are glittering as if he's smiling, “I do not wish to mock you. I wish to stop you.”

“Stop me, why?”

“The place which you seek, do not seek it. Go home. There are things hidden that should stay hidden.”

“You've been to Hamunaptra,” I breathe. “Tell me what's there.”

“Death and blood,” he answers.

“Who are you?” I ask again.

“Ones who would protect the world,” comes the cryptic response. “Go back to your country. This is not the place for you.”

“Because I'm female?”

“Because you do not know what you could unleash. Your sex has nothing to do with this. Egypt has been ruled by women far stronger than you before.”

“Hey!” I'm slightly offended by that.

“Peace, _agrab sageer._ I shall go if you swear to end your quest now.”

“I can't do that. I've risked so much just to come here.”

“And you will risk your life if you stay.”

Without warning, he draws a small knife from behind his head and manages to nick my hand with it. I drop the sword in shock, a small trickle of blood snaking down towards my fingers and he takes the opportunity to press _me_ against the wall instead.

“Leave. I beg of you. Tell them all to leave,” he seems deadly serious.

He pulls down his face covering and I see his handsome features, the sharp cheekbones, the full beard and the full lips. His tattoos on his cheeks only enhance his mysteriousness and for a moment I forget he just tried to kill me.

“It is not safe in Hamunaptra,” he continues before he takes my hand, kisses over the small cut with a surprising gentleness and backs away. “This shall be my only warning to you.”

The man starts walking to the door and I call out, “Wait!”

He turns his head back to me.

“What is it you're calling me in your language?” I ask.

He smiles and I'm sad to say I was rather flustered by it. No wonder I couldn't find a suitable husband if the only person who'd ever intrigued me was an assassin.

“Little scorpion,” he says after a pause. “You may appear weak to some but you have quite the sting to your tail. To whoever taught you to defend yourself, they have done good work. Now, get off this boat, it will sink soon enough.”

“Oh _now_ you care about whether I live?”

“Life is sacred until it interferes with sacred duty. Run, _agrab sageer. Allahu ma'ana_ ,” he kisses his hand and raises it to the heavens before disappearing from view.

I take up his sword and follow, hearing the screams of the dying all around me and I make for the burning deck, narrowly avoiding being skewered by another of the assailants who Mr O'Connell clubs in the back of the head with a bottle.

“There you are!” he grabs my arm. “Evie's been driving me nuts about finding you and that friend of yours? Albert? He's been frantic trying to get to you.”

“Where is he now?”

“In your cabin I would imagine,” he picks me up unceremoniously like I was some heroine in a novel.

“What are you doing?! Let me down! I can help!”

“Oh no,” he shakes his head, walking to the edge of the boat. “You're going to safety and then I'm gonna grab your soldier friend and we're getting out before this boat blows to kingdom come, alright?”

“This is improper!” I struggle as his hand grazes my rear. “Unhand me! Put me down, Mr O'Connell!”

“It's Rick, sweetheart and sure I'll put you down.”

He throws me over the side of the ship and my night dress flies up, obscuring my view as I plummet into the inky water. I flail, trying to swim but I'm tangled and it's not until I feel a pair of hands freeing me that I'm able to get any traction.

I surface, gasping for breath as Evie is tugging me to the shoreline and I follow until we're both wading onto the sand, sodden and miserable, my light gown almost transparent as I try to hide myself from prying eyes.

“He dropped me over the side!” I exclaim.

“Yes he does that sort of thing,” Evie huddles close. “He can be quite a brute sometimes but he means well.”

Slowly we are joined by a spluttering Jonathan, a resigned Rick and stone faced Albert as Rick engages in a shouting match with the treasure hunter's guide across the river, Beni.

“Thank god you're alright, Ma'am,” Albert hugs me tightly. “Did they hurt you?”

“I'm fine, Al. Just a scrape,” I say hastily after he spots my hand. “I can't believe we lost all our clothes.”

“Yeah, thanks for saving us, Rick,” Rick's sarcastic response comes. “Because clothes are more important obviously.”

“Don't be horrid,” Evie hits him on the arm.

“Still want to go to Hamunaptra?” Rick raises an eyebrow.

“Well yes. I shouldn't let a thing like this deter me. Jonathan?”

“Whatever she says,” Jonathan is bent over trying to catch his breath with his hands resting on his knees.

“Ma'am?” Albert asks. “Say the word and we'll leave for home.”

“We're not going home,” I say stubbornly. “I was almost murdered because someone believed Hamunaptra is real and worth defending. They told me themselves.”

“This wouldn't happen to be one of the crazy swordsman would it?” Rick pushes his dripping hair out of his eyes.

“It would.”

“Great. They just loved me the last time I was there.”

“Well you do seem to make a lot of enemies,” Jonathan stands up with a groan. “And we do still owe that chap that freed you some gold, speaking of enemies...wherever he's gotten to.”

“I think he was on the other side of the river,” Evie looks over at the treasure hunters starting to slope off into the night. “Well we'll meet up again if we're going to the same place.”

“Let's get walking. The desert is just as dangerous at night and you'll need more than nightgowns to get by,” Rick begins striding off.

I hear the screech of a falcon in the distance and turn to see a group of men on horses on a hill overlooking the river bank where the bird came to settle on the arm of the leader. It was then I realised my would be assassin was that very man and I don't know why I waved at him but I did. I was more surprised he returned the gesture.

“Come along, Ma'am. Quicker we can find a place to stay, the quicker we can get you dried off,” Albert steers me away and when I turn back to the hill, the men have gone.


	2. The Road to Hamunaptra

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> No clothes, no money and wandering in the desert. Is Hamunaptra really worth this?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warnings: Violence, Death
> 
> (Possible proof reading errors)
> 
> Happy reading! 
> 
> \- NB xx

Suffice it to say Rick O'Connell was not much of a talker.

He stormed ahead, wading through the sand whilst the rest of us trailed behind. Only Albert was able to keep pace with him and we walked until the night started turning into dawn.

I was shivering, trying to watch my step as Evie was incessantly talking about Hamunaptra and I began to realise my obsession with the place paled in comparison to hers. I didn't mind it so much, it kept my mind working as we chased the sun but that would bring its own problems eventually.

I was still wearing nothing but the nightgown and I had no protection, no shade I could hide in. The heat would be stifling.

“How much further?” Jonathan called, licking his cracking lips. “Only I'm getting a bit desperate for some water, chaps.”

“Just over the hill,” Rick calls back.

Albert looks behind himself and sees that I'm struggling. He can't fail to notice, in fact, that I'm wincing every time I step on a stone. I didn't exactly have time to grab shoes.

“Ma'am,” he slows his step so he's walking beside me. “How are you faring?”

“Wonderful,” I grumble. “I'm cold, my feet are cut to ribbons and I'm pressing sand into the wounds and I'm being led by a man who has the manners of a sewer rat.”

“Hey! I could turn around and march you straight back to that river,” Rick calls over his shoulder warningly.

“Try it! See what happens!” I hiss back.

“Ma'am, stop antagonising the person who's helping us,” Albert puts a hand on my shoulder. “That's enough.”

And I knew when Albert put his foot down that I'd crossed a line so I fell silent. It wasn't often he chided me but I took it very personally when he did.

“We're nearly there,” Evie took my hand to give me some motivation. “And then we can rest.”

She helped me down the hill and finally we saw civilisation. A marketplace.

We managed to barter for water supplies, new clothes and food and the ladies at the stall helped me into the dress, using kohl on my eyes to protect them from the harshness of the desert and also to ward off the Evil Eye. I'd take any protection I could get at this point.

Evie and I emerged to the shocked faces of the men and I got the sense Rick was rather quite enamoured with the cheerful librarian next to me. Jonathan did try to get a little closer to me but I shrugged him off to stand next to Albert.

“Ah I see,” Jonathan points between me and my bodyguard. “Not to worry. I apologise.”

I just let him assume I was not courtable. In truth, my mind had been pre-occupied ever since the boat with that mysterious assassin.

I couldn't shake the image of his intense eyes and the way he'd been so gentle in kissing my hand when only moments before he'd attempted to kill me. An assassin with a moral code, chivalry even. I kept wondering if I'd ever see him again, which was frankly ridiculous.

What sane woman should hope to meet her would-be murderer a second time?

“Come along, Ma'am. We can sleep for a couple of hours and then Mr O'Connell will lead us onto Hamunaptra,” he shoos me into a tent. “He's really not so bad once you get chatting with him.”

“So you'll be firm pen pals when we return home then?” I lie down on the cushions a little more savagely than I intended.

“Even for you, Ma'am, you're being quite caustic today. Is it the swordsmen on the boat?” he lies down next to me.

“Yes,” I sigh. “Even on all of our adventures I've not been that close to dying before. Had I been a deep sleeper...”

“This is the life you chose. An adventurer, a relic hunter...there are inherent risks and death is one of them. We can still go back. It's not too late but once we get into the desert properly, you can't change your mind.”

“Al, tell me what I should do. I don't know any more.”

“As long as you're in my eye line, I'll protect you,” he turns to me and smiles. “So go on to your fabled city. If we leave now and miss the chance, your father and I will never hear the end of it. I know you too well. You'll regret more than you'll fear impending death. You're just like your grandfather. Stubborn.”

“Tell me another story about him?” I ask and he obliges.

I manage to drift off to the tales of my grandfather racing up a mountain to beat a local warlord to an ancient tomb. My dreams were plagued with nightmares though.

_All I saw was the sand rising up to swallow me whole and in the sand was a face, a monstrous face that laughed as I tried to run. As the sand buried me, I reached out in vain to the assassin who sat watching me drown._

“ _I told you to leave this place. This place is cursed and now it has claimed you.”_

“It's time to wake up,” Evie is shaking me and I jerk upwards. “Oh dear, was it a bad dream? You look ever so distressed.”

“I've just got a bad feeling is all,” the nightmare is already receding, slipping away faster than I can remember. “Is Albert already up?”

“He didn't want to wake you,” she smiles kindly at me. “So are you and him...?”

“He's my bodyguard,a friend of my father's,” I shake my head. “Although I imagine any suitor would have a hard time getting past him.”

“I did wonder. Jonathan seemed to think you were courting but I knew differently. Don't worry, I won't tell him. My brother can be a little overbearing if he sets his mind to it.”

“Thank you. What about you and Rick?”

“Mr O'Connell?” she suddenly becomes very flustered, her cheeks flushing. “Oh don't be silly. What would he want with a librarian?”

It's then I realised she thought she wasn't good enough for him. I had to stuff my hand over my mouth to keep from laughing.

“I'm sure he'd want a great many things. I saw the look he gave you when we came out in the new clothes. If anything I believe he's reaching beyond _his_ station.”

“You're very funny,” she taps me lightly with a cushion. “Come along. Hamunaptra awaits. Oh I've been waiting for this day!”

We walk out, arms linked and laughing with each other. This didn't stop, our little private jokes, even when we were on camels and riding out into the dunes.

I caught Albert looking over and shaking his head with a wry smile. I'm sure he was just happy I'd made a friend. Adventuring could be very lonely sometimes.

We met with the American treasure hunters some time later on a perpendicular path. They were on horses and looking rather smug about that fact. We didn't move on though.

“What are we waiting for?” Jonathan asks, his camel nearly dislodging him.

“For just the right moment,” Rick answers cryptically, scanning the horizon.

And when it struck, we all rode forward eagerly. The thrill of discovery was spurring me on to further heights and our camels were outstripping the horses now.

Hamunaptra rose before me and I was in awe at finally being in such a legendary place. Most of the landscape was buried in sand but the columns, pillars and even the heads of statues poked out from the desert. I thought it was wonderful.

Just as we reached a good spot to disembark and set up camp, I looked up to the mountain ridges in the distance and saw figures in black watching us. My chest clenched a little, wondering if _he_ was up there. It was too far away to tell. I knew there was a good chance that if we stayed, they would come but I hoped it would be in a better context than the last time.

“Something the matter, Ma'am?” Albert nudges me. “Only, I would've thought you'd be down in the ruins already scouting for documents.”

“I'm fine, Al. Just overwhelmed,” I lie before joining the others who were heading down to the tunnels.

There was a peculiar feeling to being in this place. The air was close, I could almost taste a tang of salt though there was no seawater for miles. It was also eerily quiet except for the movement of my little group and the sound was magnified tenfold. My own breathing was reflected back at me.

I got hung up on a little nook where I could see some sealed scrolls in their containers buried into the wall.

“You go on ahead. I need to preserve these before those treasure hunter idiots damage them by accident,” I wave everyone off.

Albert stands by me resolutely. I think even he is feeling a little small in comparison to this place.

“Well...you were right,” he laughs softly. “It exists. I'm sure your father will be glad to know your theory was correct.”

“He'll be glad when I save him these scrolls,” I use tools to gently extract them, popping open the caps of the containers and looking at the contents.

Some detail embalming rituals, some the beliefs about 'ka' or souls and their worthiness to pass to the underworld. I could've spent hours reading them but a shrieking caught my attention.

Albert flattened me against the wall with his bulk just as something went speeding past and hit the back wall with a sickening thud. From the sprawl of limbs I knew it was a man.

“Don't look, Ma'am,” Albert hides the sight from me, caging me into his chest. “Don't look. Take the scrolls you have and let's get out into the air. We can come back for the rest another time.”

“What happened?!” I ask but it doesn't take long before Rick, Evelyn and Jonathan arrive.

“Go,” Albert pushes me but I'd already seen the body now.

Seeing mummies or skeletons, there was a disconnect. Witnessing a fresh death...that shriek will haunt me forever.

From the snippets of conversation I heard before I was shepherded out, he was the man they owed a share of Hamunaptra's treasures to. Quite why he would dash his brains on the stonework is anyone's guess though. He had a lot to live for.

This place...maybe my dream _was_ correct and this place was cursed. I suddenly didn't feel like I wanted to be here any more. I wanted to be home.

Something wasn't right.

**

I spent the rest of the day poring over the scrolls I'd gathered and Albert got me several more after they'd moved the man's body away.

With the knowledge on the papyrus, I could write a complete study on Egyptian burial rituals. The bubble burst a little when I remembered that I would have to publish it under my father's name though. Still, at least my research would be read by scholars.

Night set in fast and it wasn't long until the fires were roaring by the campsites.

The treasure hunters were being rowdy, annoyingly so and my focus at trying to translate the scrolls was broken more than once.

“I do wish they'd shut up,” I hiss aloud and Evelyn hummed her mutual irritation.

“Have you found anything exciting?” she peers over my shoulder.

“Burial ritual instructions, legends of the afterlife. I've never seen a more rounded and complete set of documents,” I'm babbling in my excitement and how fortunate for me that she returns the excitement in equal measure.

Such was our passionate debate about the differences between published scholar's interpretations and these scrolls that we didn't pick up on the disturbance near the treasure hunter's camp until shots rang out.

“Ma'am! Get back! Hide in the tunnels!” Albert shoves me.

“I certainly will _not_ hide!” I pick up his spare revolver and look for the source of the trouble.

It makes itself known when the black robed men ride into Hamunaptra in full force, another attack. Fighting erupts everywhere but I'm looking for my assassin. I break away from Albert who is brawling with one of the men, twisting the sword from his grip and delivering a punch that rocked the man's balance.

Then I see him and he sees me at the same moment. There's something of frustration, disappointment and also faint amusement in his look. His face is uncovered this time and I can see his expressions clearly.

“Your capacity for listening is not very great,” he walks slowly towards me. “I told you not to come here.”

“I had to see it for myself.”

“Now you have seen it. Leave.”

“I....”

But he catches it, the flicker of doubt. He's a few feet away now and everyone is too busy fighting to notice our exchange.

“You know something is not right in this place. Do not stay here. Take your plundered wealth and go.”

“I'm not plundering wealth. I'm learning. I'm learning your old customs. You think they'd care for scrolls?” I gesture to the treasure hunters firing off round after round into the fray.

“It does not matter what you are taking. Just take it and go. There is an evil that hides in the sands and if it breaks free, the world will fall.”

“Stop!” he's too close now and I wanted to maintain some distance.

“I've told you before, little scorpion. You are not a killer,” he shakes his head.

I fire a shot about a foot in front of him and he doesn't even flinch, if anything he chuckles. It appears I amuse him greatly.

Tension flare brightly though when Rick produces a stick of dynamite with the wick lit. My assassin stops dead in his tracks before addressing Rick, confirming he was most definitely the leader of these men.

“Enough! _Yalla_! We will shed no more blood, but you must leave. Leave this place or die. You have one day.”

“We'll be waiting, pal,” Rick retorts.

My assassin just gives me a curious look before bowing his head slightly to me, “Be careful, little scorpion. You will need that sting in your tail should you persist in this madness.”

As they start leaving, I relax but I'm already wishing Rick didn't interrupt the conversation. I'm wishing I had more time to speak to him.

I turn to see where Albert had gone and I'm grabbed from behind, yanked onto a horse and before I can understand what's happening, we're out of the gates of Hamunaptra. I try to struggle but they have a firm grip in my hair and strands are separating from my head.

“LET ME GO!” I hit behind me but they don't budge.

“They will miss you in that place,” comes a much harsher voice than my assassin's. “You are valuable. Our leader thinks so too if he has talked with you twice now and spared you. A fine hostage you will make. They'll _have_ to leave Hamunaptra now, if they ever want to see you again.”

I just accept it. We're already some way out into the desert now and I had no hope of navigating or surviving on my own. I'd have to rely on the assassin's good graces that he'd look after me if I was an important hostage.

We reached a camp with rows of tents that looked like they could pack down very quickly but in the back there were some more permanent structures. At the far end I saw what appeared to be a place of worship that faced out from the cliffside.

“Ardeth!” the man behind me called. “Ardeth!”

Then he spoke in Arabic and I didn't understand anything further. What I _did_ understand was that my assassin was called Ardeth because he turned around at the mention of the name and then looked utterly furious.

I was pulled off the horse and set on the ground with little care from the man before he started arguing with Ardeth, gesticulating wildly, sometimes to me. The raised voices were drawing attention from the others and finally my kidnapper backed away, bowing respectfully and then disappeared into a tent.

“Forgive me,” Ardeth addresses me directly. “I did not ask him to do this. I _would_ _not_ ask him to do this. He is stoking the fire for conflict and there does not need to be any. Come with me.”

He takes my arm and leads me to one of the stone buildings before ushering me inside. It's dimly lit with torches in braziers but I can see him just fine, especially that fraught expression.

“I must confess I am unsure what to do with you,” he sighs, unwrapping his hair and running a hand through it where the dark strands catch the torchlight. “I was not expecting this.”

“Are you going to kill me?”

“No. No one will harm you here. Sit, please.”

He waves to a bench and I indulge him, waiting patiently.

“So what now?” I ask.

“Now...if I take you back, it could cause problems, if I keep you here it could cause problems. So what shall I do with you? Tell me.”

“You want my opinion?”

“I've asked for it, have I not?”

“If your goal is to draw people away from Hamunaptra then keeping me here would be wise. Albert will come after me and the others will have a sense of duty to rescue a woman in distress,” I answer truthfully.

“And are you distressed? Did he mistreat you, my warrior?” Ardeth sits next to me.

“He hurt me a little.”

“Then I shall deal with him. It will not happen again.”

“Just who are you anyway?”

“Forgive me, I have not introduced myself,” he puts a hand on his chest and inclines his head. “I am Ardeth Bay, I am the leader of the Medjai and I swear to you that you will be safe here.”


End file.
